Note 4 — Chapter XXIII · GEOGRAPHICAL

The more northerly and principal branch in an orographical sense would appear to consist almost exclusively of recent volcanic mountains, stretching from Perli Dagh in an east-south-easterly direction to the Pambukh Dagh, west of Great Ararat. In this neighbourhood the line is taken up by the fabric of Ararat, raising the barrier by slow stages to nearly 17,000 feet, and having an axis from north-west to south-east.4 The sequence comes to an end in the Little Ararat, whose slopes descend on three sides to fairly level plains. An interesting feature about the range in its more westerly portion are the outbreaks of andesitic lava along its base upon the north. These eruptions appear to have culminated in the peak of Takjaltu (8409 feet) near Kulpi, which forms a landmark to the districts on that side. Thence the fissure which gave issue to the andesite may be traced westwards, keeping parallel to the chain. The eruptions have disturbed the sedimentary rocks, and their incidence can be certainly attributed to the Miocene period.5 Further east the upwellings of lava along the slopes of the mountains have all the appearance of having been discharged into a sheet of water spread over the surface of the Ararat region.6